The Sweet Potatoes was formed in 2009 after my husband, Rick Hall, made an indie film, Slice of Pie. He wrote and starred in it, cast Kelly Macleod in her debut acting role, and I created the score. Out of that collaborative process, The Sweet Potatoes was born.

Everything clicked right away, and in just a few months Kelly and I wrote lots of new songs, and recorded our first cd, The Sweet Potatoes. We brought in lots of friends to play on it with us, including Nashville favorite, Phil Swann to produce; my partner in crime on Whose Line, Linda Taylor on guitar and dobro; Dennis Caplinger on fiddle; David Carpenter on bass; Buddy Mondlock on guitar; and Glenn Jost on drums. At that point we'd only played a couple live shows together. We loved how the cd turned out, but we had to figure out how to be a live band.

We played live together every chance we got, and the band evolved and grew. Now Rick plays bass, harmonica and sings with us. We're often joined by Steve Borgard on dobro, banjo and harmonica, and Daniel Regal on percussion. In 2014 we were thrilled to go back in the studio and record our second cd, Faith, Good Neighbors and a Telephone.

Our music is a blend of country, folk and Americana. We play mostly our originals, along with some traditional songs, and interesting covers (you should hear our version of Sweet Dreams Are Made of This). All our music is very down home, and loaded with vocal harmonies.

I get to play guitar, ukulele and accordion in this band, which makes me very happy. We're definitely influenced by the music I loved when I was growing up, from people like Emmylou Harris and Linda Rondstadt. We're also inspired by newer musicians on the acoustic scene, like Red Molly, The Wailin' Jennies and Old Crow Medicine Show.

Kelly and I write and sing from a woman's perspective, with songs about finding and appreciating love, having faith, raising children, childhood memories and the places where these memories come from. This is so much the music from my heart. Plus, we love playing live together.